Berkadia’s Early Start in Efficiency Helps It Subservice

Berkadia’s offshore unit in Hyderabad, India, just celebrated its 11th anniversary and the company has been ahead of the curve when it comes to commercial mortgage servicing efficiencies in many ways.

This had long paid off for this descendant of GMAC, and it is in particular this year when it comes to subservicing.

“A large part of our business model is supporting other servicers,” says Jan Sternin, SVP and managing director, Berkadia.

There is “a real shift in the way our fellow servicers look at servicing” as they are finding they need to do business more efficiently to stay profitable, something Berkadia has long been doing by operating both in an offshore market and through the use of technology.

The company does well over $100 billion in subservicing business and has clients that include at least one of its direct competitors, says Sternin.

The work is challenging, she says.

“You become audited by so many. There is such control. You’re held to the benchmark of every client. We get scorecards from some of our clients every year,” she says.

The audits “are very expensive,” says Sternin.

Another challenge for the commercial mortgage market this year is the approaching expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act this year.

However, generally “subservicing and servicing are going to grow and are going to have a good year,” she says.